Kevin McCarthy dodges question about Trump by telling GOP to “go into default”

WASHINGTON — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) declined Thursday to discuss former President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to allow an unprecedented federal government debt default.

“My concern is President Biden,” McCarthy told reporters. “President Biden doesn’t want a deal. He wants a default.”

Both McCarthy and Joe Biden, along with a number of economists, have said the federal government is defaulting on its debts. it would be an economic catastrophe That could cost millions of jobs. But McCarthy has insisted that Republicans will not support a bill that anticipates that outcome unless Biden and Democrats agree to significant cuts in federal spending.

Speaking during a CNN town hall event on Wednesday, Trump Said Republicans Should Resist for those cuts come what may.

“I’m telling you right now, congressmen, senators: if you don’t get massive cuts, you’re going to have to default,” Trump said, adding that he considered default unlikely because the Democrats would “cave” to the Republicans. demands.

“You might as well do it now because you’ll do it later,” Trump added.

The Treasury Department has said that sometime next month, the federal government will run out of extra cash and won’t be able to pay all of its bills unless Congress raises the so-called “debt ceiling,” allowing the Treasury continue to borrow in order to cover basic expenses.

McCarthy noted that Republicans have passed a bill in the House that would raise the debt ceiling through next year. The legislation would also slash federal spending, and Democrats have said it’s impossible in the Senate, meaning it’s highly unlikely to become law.

McCarthy complained that Biden has refused to negotiate on the debt limit, but the two met at the White House on Wednesday and their staff have also been talking. McCarthy suggested, however, that his face-to-face meeting with the president was not much of a bargain.

“In any conversation we have, you can tell at that point that he doesn’t want a deal, he wants a default,” McCarthy said.

The speaker ignored a question from HuffPost about whether he still planned to meet Biden again on Friday, as the two parties had previously said would happen.

However, in his weekly meeting with reporters, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.) said he was optimistic about Friday’s meeting at the White House.

“I am grateful that President Biden has put us on the path to resolve this issue and that the meeting that is expected to take place tomorrow at the White House will be a continuation of that,” he said. “And I hope everything goes well.”

While none of the participants in Tuesday’s meeting publicly expressed any significant change in their positions afterward, Jeffries said staff-level discussions continued.

“I understand that yesterday was a very productive conversation on a personal level. It is my expectation that there will be continued conversations today,” she said.